Channel Nine's reality show "The Block" is set to transform a rundown Yarra Hotel named Hotel Saville in Melbourne into a luxury building apartment. While the task itself is not easy, the hotel's dark past adds to the challenge of the show's contestants. It is said that the old hotel was once the site of a vampire gigolo sex attack.
According to Daily Mail, the hotel is where a self-proclaimed vampire gigolo "allegedly raped a woman and bit off her tongue" back in 2002.
The male prostitute was named Shane Chartres-Abbott, News.com.au reports. According to the site, his victim was found by hotel staff in her room, "with blood bubbling from her mouth, bruising to her neck and jaw and teeth marks on her thigh." Part of the victim's tongue was said to be ripped out.
The male prostitute reportedly said in a court hearing that he was a vampire and he needed blood to survive. In 2003, in the midst of his court hearing, he was gunned down outside his home before the trial was even concluded.
According to Daily Mail, the hotel features six stories and 34 rooms. The producers of "The Block" reportedly purchased the property in June 2014 for $7.3 million, though the said amount was previously denied by real estate agents in a separate Daily Mail report.
Despite the hotel's dark history, a Channel Nine representative said that the property's past has nothing to do with the hotel being chosen for the show. The rep claimed that Hotel Saville was chosen for the show merely for its "enormous potential." It's unclear if the site where the "sex attack" happened is included in the areas to be renovated on the show.
"The Block" host Scott Cam has earlier revealed that the property poses different challenges to the contestants, saying, "This is one of the hardest builds I've ever done, both in television and as a chippie." According to him, the fact that the apartments don't have right angles makes renovations difficult. The Channel Nine representative also said that every room is a pizza shape, which will be a daunting task to the "Blockheads," the term used for "The Block" contestants.
"The Block" premieres on Sunday on Channel Nine at 7 p.m.